Can I Stay?
by Took-Baggins
Summary: Inevitably, every few weeks, Alphonse Elric found himself standing over Winry Rockbell’s bed. Obviously AlWin


A/N It's me again! I'm a big EdWin fan, but I also love AlWin. Apparently it's not a much loved pairing, though, because I've seen very little of it. So, I'm contributing a little! I hope everyone enjoys my little fic. Also, just so you guys now, this is set between the movie and the anime (closer to the movie), so he's not super young here or anything like that.

Anyway, have a merry Christmas everyone!

Disclaimer: no way.

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He came back far more often than he should have. Still, every few weeks his movements became distracted, every word Izumi said to him went in one ear and out the other. His teacher, seeing things as they were and knowing her pupil as she did, would pack a small bag and bully him onto the next train to Resembool.

Inevitably, every few weeks, Alphonse Elric found himself standing over Winry Rockbell's bed. He would catch himself wishing for the courage to wake her, the ability to put all these big feelings into words.

Every night that he was with the Rockbells, he wound up awake in the middle of the night, doing the one thing that seemed to let him sleep soundly. Her face was far more familiar to him than it should have been, as it bordered on eighteen. He wondered at this sometimes, as he stood there in his shorts and t-shirt. He watched the soft breeze of summer ease through the window, causing several wisps of blonde hair to flutter and fall across her face.

Al allowed himself to move closer, but resisted the urge to brush the hair away. Perhaps she was so familiar now because of his lost memories. He may not have been able to picture her as she grew, but he knew that this woman was the same little girl he and his brother had fought over. Would they still be doing that? If Edward were there, would they still fight for her?

A sigh escaped him, small and lost amid the rustling of the trees outside. Winry shifted in her sleep, rolling to the other side of the bed. She settled into a patch of soft moonlight filtering through the window. It washed her in a pale glow, her exposed shoulder shining faintly against the dark coverlet. Al found himself moving toward her again. He was only a few paces from the bedside now. That was much too close.

_She's beautiful, even when she sleeps..._

He shook his head, trying to clear the thought. Thinking along those lines wouldn't make it any easier to get out of there. Of course, stalking her from her bedside wouldn't do him any good either. He wanted so badly to wake her, to tell her everything he was afraid of, or worried about, why it was he came back so often and what he loved so much about this place.

He thought he knew, sometimes why Izumi always put him on the train, offering no more explanation than a stern I-want-it-all-sorted-out-before-I-see-you-again-Alphonse-Elric. He would think it over the entire trip, and just when he'd settled on an answer, something else would throw him off and he'd find himself as clueless as before. Whatever it was Izumi wanted him to sort out would always lose out to thoughts of Winry. Intelligent as he was, there were certain connections he just wasn't making.

Regretfully, he tore his gaze from the taunting patch of skin his eyes had been resting on and cast a glance at the old clock on the wall. 4:32...he'd let a big part of the night pass.

If he were going to be good for anything the next day, he needed to get out of there and get some sleep. Allowing his eyes to settle on Winry once more, he began backing silently out of the room, forgetting to pay attention to where he was going.

_CRASH!_

"Eeee!" Winry shrieked, shooting upright as Al rolled to the floor. Bolts and screws scattered across the floor, rolling every which way as the bedside lamp was clicked on. Alphonse swore silently to himself, he had forgotten about the small shelves next to the door. He scrambled to collect the parts, throwing them back into the little wooden box they'd been stored in.

"Al?" he froze, her voice taking him by surprise. He'd expected her to be angry. Who wouldn't be after being so rudely awakened in the middle of the night? Rather, the voice that reached him held a great deal of concern. He didn't turn around, knowing very well that his face was red. Winry called to him again, sounding more worried. "Al, what's wrong? What's happening?"

"Oh...nothing! I just...I couldn't sleep." that much was true, he couldn't sleep. Not with thoughts of Winry constantly clouding his mind. He put an unnecessary amount of concentration into putting the shelf back in order, trying very hard not to hear her mattress creak as she left it.

She moved behind him, her shadow falling across him as her pale hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Al, are you alright? You know you can talk to me."

"I know."

"Then what-"

"Can I stay in here?" he cut her off, the question startling them both. Al shifted to look up at her. He felt his face burn hotter and was suddenly glad he'd asked before he'd looked. Winry's long hair was loose, hanging in tussled waves over her shoulders. A small, thin-strapped tank top was all she wore to accompany a pair of bottoms so short he didn't know whether they were short or underwear. It was all in that pristine white that suited her so well. Al felt himself gaping at her, but somehow he seemed unable to do anything about it.

"Well sure, if it'll help you sleep." Winry smiled down at him. If she noticed the blushing, awestruck way he was staring at her, she didn't acknowledge it. Instead, she moved away from him, climbing back into bed.

'_That came out of nowhere...'_ Al thought, watching her go. He stayed where he was, unsure if 'staying' meant following after her. It shouldn't have been such an embarrassing thought, Winry had stayed with the Elrics plenty of time when they were younger.

Back then, though, she hadn't been eighteen. Eighteen and beautiful.

She made the decision for him, sitting up to give him an expectant look. "Are you staying or not, Al?"

"Oh...yeah." apparently 'staying' _did_ involve the bed. Clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment, he slowly crossed the room and slid beneath the blanket next to her. Winry scooted close to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, grinning as he made an odd, surprised sort of sound. She let her head settle against his shoulder and squeezed him fondly.

"You and I are going to talk tomorrow."

"Okay. Uh...Winry? Thanks."

"Don't worry about it, Al." her breath brushed against his neck, sending a shiver through him. The girl must have felt it, because she squeezed him again.

Al stared up at the ceiling, trying not to concentrate too much on the warm body pressed against him. He wasn't used to this sort of thing. Every curve and shape of her body was painfully distinct to his senses, and it didn't leave a lot of room for coherent thought.

'_What am I doing? I shouldn't be in here, this is crazy!'_ Al tried to push away ant thoughts straying towards things they shouldn't, instead berating himself for what he felt was seriously reckless behavior. _'I shouldn't have done this...will things be weird tomorrow? I'm so stupid. So, so stupid...'_

His thoughts fell away as Winry nuzzled her face against his neck, murmuring happily as she began to doze. Al slowly moved to put a hand against her back, smiling in spite of himself. He wasn't sure how he felt about all this: his childhood friend curled against him and how much he loved the feel of her.

Either way, he wasn't going to have any more trouble sleeping that night.


End file.
